Voices of Authority
Draal reveals himself to Sheridan and offers his services. Babylon 5 is assigned a political officer. G'Kar questions Delenn about the war council and the Rangers. Cast Regular *Bruce Boxleitner as Captain John Sheridan *Claudia Christian as Commander Susan Ivanova *Jerry Doyle as Michael Garibaldi *Mira Furlan as Ambassador Delenn *Richard Biggs as Dr. Stephen Franklin *Bill Mumy as Lennier *Jason Carter as Marcus Cole *Stephen Furst as Vir Cotto *Jeff Conaway as Security Chief Zack Allan *Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar *Peter Jurasik as Ambassador Londo Mollari Guest Starring *John Schuck as Draal *Shari Shattuck as Julie Musante Featuring *James Black as Security Guard #1 *Joshua Cox as Corwin *Vimi Mani as ISN Anchor *Gary McGurk as Vice President Clark Cast Notes * Regular characters appearing in this episode are John Sheridan, Susan Ivanova, Michael Garibaldi, Delenn, Stephen Franklin, Marcus Cole, Zack Allan and G'Kar. *The last onscreen appearance of Draal, played John Schuck Summary Introduction Michael Garibaldi and Zack Allan discuss weekly meetings and the fit of Zack's uniform. As they prepare to enter a transport tube, Garibaldi receives a call from Ivanova, for a "Code 7R." Garibaldi leaves, leaving Zack wondering what a Code 7R is. The Code 7R is a meeting of the War Council. At the meeting, Delenn broaches the subject of contacting the First Ones. Ivanova wants to know why the First Ones aren't around to help since the Shadows are still a threat. Delenn responds that they are tired, and left the affairs of the younger races to the Vorlons. Some are sleeping, some went beyond the Rim, and some walk among the stars. Captain Sheridan advocates contacting the First Ones, while Marcus Cole expresses caution. Marcus states that on Minbar, the Rangers are taught that the First Ones are beyond anything the younger races have experienced. He advises that they are old, powerful, dangerous, and don't like to be bothered. However, Delenn believes that there is no longer any time to be circumspect. Draal then appears, mentioning his approval of contacting them. He cheerfully says it will be fun, as long as they're not dissected, vaporized or otherwise killed in an assortment of supremely horrible and painful ways. Act I Draal fills the war council in on what he has discovered about the First Ones. All of his files were labeled "do not approach." However, he is willing to help. He invites Sheridan down to the planet in four hours to discuss where to go from here. Zack is approached by the new political officer sent by the Ministry of Peace, a forceful woman named Julie Musante. She asks why the captain isn't here, and he tells her the captain is in a meeting. She asks him to have her belongings sent to appropriate quarters, but when he offers to show her around, she turns him down flatly. He doesn't seem disconcerted. G'Kar finds Delenn at a fruit stand on the Zócalo. He asks about the closed meetings Delenn and the others have been conducting. She attempts to evade his questions until he bluntly asks about the Rangers. She is visibly caught off guard, but equivocates. G'Kar tells her that he'll eventually find out on his own, and she escapes. Musante meets Sheridan in his office. She compliments his awards, but comments that there isn't enough evidence of the presence of the Earthgov. Sheridan gracefully rejects her suggestion. She tells him that she's been assigned to help him carry out his duties in a way that aligns with the agenda of Earth. He interprets this as her being sent to undermine his authority. She assures him he's not thinking of it in the proper way, and that she's only here to help since the Senate has concerns. She tells him his recent actions haven't been particularly politically astute. When he takes offense, she assures him that she's only the messenger. She tells him he needs someone to keep him from making costly political mistakes. Sheridan orders Zack to leave. He and Musante argue over whether the military or civilian government has jurisdiction over Babylon 5. She tells him she's not going away, so they had better come to an arrangement. She suggests he take her to Fresh Air and tell her what's been going on. He tries to refuse, but she says he has nothing on his schedule to prevent him. Sheridan tells Ivanova that Musante will prevent him from leaving today, so she must go to Epsilon III in his place. When Zack shows Musante to her quarters, she asks him to let him know whatever the captain is intentionally leaving out of his reports. Zack is uncomfortable with the idea of spying on him, but she assures him that Sheridan will come around eventually. Act II Draal confronts Ivanova when she gets down to the Great Machine, asking where Sheridan is. Ivanova's nervous babble amuses him, and he invites her back to the conduit room. At Fresh Air, Sheridan expresses his concerns about the Centauri's warmongering. Musante dismisses the idea, assuring him that Earth would never ally with a world bent on conquest. Sheridan points out the treaty, which she affirms is proof of the Centauri's honorable intentions. They get to discussing life on the station, and Sheridan mentions the Lurkers in passing. Musante informs him that there are no homeless people on Earth, just people too lazy or unwilling to get a job. She dismisses poverty with the same logic, but admits that there is some criminality, which she blames on mental illness. She casually mentions that the government has instituted correctional centers to "filter them out at an early age." She turns her tactic to flattery and tells him that before you can deal with a problem, you have to redefine it. Sheridan sees this as ignoring problems and hoping they go away. She retorts that some people just want to cause problems for others instead of doing anything productive. She wants to bring Earthgov back into the hands of "decent, hardworking people." She insinuates that his candor could be used against him, and that is what she is here to help prevent. Ivanova and Draal come to the conduit room, where Draal is plugged in. Momentarily, Draal forgets that he's still plugged in. He steps out, reminding himself to dust himself more often. Ivanova gets into the machine, and Draal warns her not to stray from the path. At first, she sees only space, but as she focuses, silvery-blue lines appear in the void. She follows them to Sigma 957, where she marvels at the darkly shimmering marks of the First Ones' presence. She soon notices that she's not alone. As she looks around, twelve fiery eyes shimmer into existence. As she fights the draw of them, more eyes appear in the dark, pulling her away from the path. Draal implores her to look away and come back, which she does with great difficulty. Before she disengages, she sees Earth Force One passing Io. She thinks she can warn the President before he dies, but Drall tells her she is only seeing what happened and cannot affect it. Before it is destroyed, the image fades into Clark's expectant face. He admits he's wanted Santiago dead, and asks if the person on the other end is sure it's done. Morden assures him that Earth Force One will never return from Io. She then sees the destruction of Earth Force One again. Shaken, she asks Draal to record it. It's the proof they all need to prove Clark's guilt definitively. Act III After dinner, Sheridan and Musante return to Sheridan's quarters because Musante is locked out of hers. She takes off her dress (her back is seen without clothes), and tries to seduce Sheridan. Ivanova appears using the holoprojection system. To prevent Musante from seeing Ivanova, Sheridan embraces Musante, turns her away, and kisses her. Ivanova disappears, then Sheridan breaks off. He goes into his bedroom and shuts the partition behind him. Ivanova reappears and tells Sheridan that they have to move or they may miss the First Ones returning to Sigma 957. Sheridan can’t leave with Musante watching him, so he has Ivanova go without him. G'Kar finds Garibaldi and asks where Ivanova is. G'Kar tries to find out what is going on but Garibaldi evades answering questions. G'Kar is offended by the runaround, and confronts him about it. Garibaldi doesn't see how they could help each other, and G'kar admonishes him, telling him to "work on it." Zack Allen finds Musante the next morning and asks how her time was with Sheridan. Frustrated by being rejected by Sheridan, she lashes out at Zack when he propositions her. She tells him to show up to a Nightwatch meeting in three hours. Ivanova boards the White Star 1 and learns that Marcus will be accompanying her as translator. They depart for Sigma 957. In the Nightwatch meeting, Musante announces new powers for Nightwatch and new prohibitions on speaking out against the government. She mentions that a purge of disloyal government officials is coming. Zack voices concerns about due process, and she tells him that the rules of evidence have been redesigned to be more "flexible." When some members object to the extreme measures, she says that the rights of free speech and association will be temporarily abridged until the "crisis" has passed. She tells them that they have been betrayed at every level, and that all loyal citizens are needed to see that Earth remains safe and ideologically pure. Aboard the White Star, Ivanova and Marcus have turned up nothing, so he attempts to chat with her. She refuses, but he takes it in stride. A white lightning gate heralds the arrival of a gigantic black ship ringed in blue light. Act IV Aboard the White Star, the image of a strange wooden mask with blazing eyes appears. Ivanova asks for their help in fighting the Shadows. At the mention of the Vorlons, the First One is vehement, but refuses to respond in English or Minbari. The mask fades without answering. Marcus suggests that they're thinking it over. In Sheridan's quarters, Garibaldi shows him the recording of Mr. Morden's conversation with Clark. Sheridan decides to get the recording to General Hague. Garibaldi expresses the concern that they might be accused of faking it, but Sheridan tells him that the message will contain the proper ID code to tie the message undeniably to Clark. Aboard the White Star, the mask reappears and utters a single word – zaugg – then disappears. As the First Ones move away, Ivanova realizes they have denied the request for help. She refuses to let them leave without saying yes. Facetiously, Marcus suggests he put a bucket on his head and pretend to be the ancient Vorlon god Booji, which gives Ivanova an idea. She calls the First Ones back and thanks them for trying but she was warned by the Vorlons that they'd give up without trying. She tells them that the Vorlons claimed that they carried the other First Ones in the last war. Impressed by her audacity, the mask returns to inform them in English that when the time is right, she need only call their name and they will come. Act V In Garibaldi's office, security staff watch a news report that evidence has been uncovered that implicates Clark in the death of President Santiago as an assassination. Garibaldi informs them that Musante has been recalled to Earth to deal with the crisis, and in the meantime they should tell people that they are simply waiting for the truth to come out. Zack remains after the staff is dismissed, and Garibaldi takes the opportunity to confront him about Nightwatch. Zack insists he didn't tell Musante anything important. Garibaldi warns him not to betray his trust. Zack retorts that Garibaldi doesn't trust him and that he's aware something is going on. Garibaldi asks him if he's got a charge to make. Zack responds in frustration that he's just trying to understand what's going on around him, and he thought Garibaldi would understand. He tells Garibaldi not to talk to him anymore beyond work, and walks out. Ivanova tells Sheridan that the Walkers of Sigma 957 will help when the time comes. Allan escorts Musante to the docking area and asks her about a Code 7R. She doesn't know what he is talking about. She vows to find and permanently punish whoever started the accusation about Clark. G'Kar awakens Garibaldi in his quarters and gives him a book of G'Qan, telling him to read it and they'll talk afterward. Garibaldi calls after him he can't read Narn. Unsympathetic, G'Kar tells him to learn. Garibaldi goes back to sleep. Memorable Quotes DVD Release This episode, along with the other 21 from Season 3 have been released on DVD with extensive Special Features. External Link Notes * JMS stated that, although not a literal translation, the best translation of the sentence the Walkers respond with (Vorlons Tavutna Chog!) is: "the Vorlons can kiss my ____".[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/049.html Voices of Authority at the Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5] References Category:Babylon 5 episodes Category:Babylon 5 Season 3 episodes